On The Precipice

On the Precipice is a stunning programme of immersive 3-screen film installations curated by digital artist Kelly Richardson and produced by ISIS Arts that explore our relationship to contemporary landscape and the effect humans have had on the natural environment. On the Precipice is exhibited in The Big M, an inflatable mobile exhibition venue that can travel almost anywhere to reach people that might not otherwise experience contemporary digital artworks.

The tour included a series of artist talks with Kelly Richardson, Brigitte Zieger and Alexandra Crouwers, a specially designed augmented reality app, and encompassed a pilot project researching new methods of measuring audience experience through digital fabrication with Bettina Nissen, Culture Lab and The Creative Exchange.

The tour included a series of digital art workshops for young people at each touring location. We worked with over 400 participants from various schools and youth groups from across the North East who participated in day- and week-long workshops to make their own digital artworks inspired by On the Precipice, exploring the environmental themes of the programme and experimenting with the technologies used to create it. The workshop programme culminated in The Deep End, an exhibition of the work produced in the Northern Rock Gallery at Woodhorn Museum (Ashington) and features a selection of the digital artworks created by the various participating schools and youth groups.

The Deep End, Woodhorn Museum

The Deep End was a showcase of digital artworks at Woodhorn Museum between October 2013 and January 2014 created by arts & design students from Northumberland College (Ashington) and a selection of works from schools and youth groups from across the North East. >>

The workshops explored alternative models of collaborative working and explored the relationship between visions of the future and technological change in a society of endemic innovation. The goal was to develop new opportunities to engage audiences not just in creative practice, but also in the critical discourse around innovation and an increasingly technological future.

Participants included researchers, students and creative practitioners from different disciplines and backgrounds with an interest in design, future and innovation studies, environmental sciences, medicine, science fiction, art+science and emerging technologies.

VISUALISING THE FUTURE: CRAFTING VISUALISATIONS OF THE WORLD TO COME

In May 2013, Culture Lab and ISIS Arts presented Visualising the Future; a lab exploring the potential of visualisations to envision futures that participants would like to live in and experience that took place in the Big M, our inflatable touring venue, based at the Toffee Factory. >>

On the Precipice was developed during an ISIS Arts research residency by north-east based digital artist, Kelly Richardson. On the Precipice - The Big M Tour was kindly supported Culture Lab at Newcastle University and funded by Arts Council England’s National Strategic Touring Programme.